It’s hard to believe that, one short year ago, we were carrying on about a rubber duck.

As the ribbers get smoking this weekend, the enticing smells of their barbecues wafting from Hardy Park might help us forget that, since last year’s Ribfest weekend, Brockville’s optimism has taken a bit of a hit.

Sure, we were already dealing with the looming closure of Procter&Gamble at this time last year, but when Ribfest last rolled around the city was glowing with pride as the walls of Brockville’s newly-restored railway tunnel first glowed in all their LED splendour for all to see.

A year ago this weekend, it was Canada’s 150th anniversary, and we were simultaneously scratching our heads at the particular way in which we were marking it – a giant inflatable rubber duck on Blockhouse Island – and marvelling at how many tourists stopped by to take selfies with the thing.

A short walk away, we were, quite rightly, in awe of the attraction that the long-closed tunnel has become.

Now, we have a lame duck instead – a city council nearing the end of its term while municipal election campaigns are about to ramp up.

And Brockville’s municipal campaign is likely to include more than a few select words about the financial hangover caused by the tunnel project.

Recently, city councillors received a KPMG forensic audit of the tunnel project, which found that the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee was making many financial decisions on its own without involving city council or its finance, administration and operations committee.

Meanwhile, fundraising dried up a year into the project.

The combination of those factors created a perfect storm resulting in a $2,046,771 deficit, according to the audit.

The repercussions of this financial mess can be seen on the final list of candidates for city council.

Coun. David LeSueur, head of the tunnel committee until a few months ago, who was rumoured to be contemplating a run for mayor, is not on the list of candidates for the next council.

Cec Drake, until recently the head of the Brockville Taxpayers Association, is on the list, and the backlash from the two-million-dollar tunnel glitch has a lot to do with his being propelled into a second mayoral run.

Drake, along with fellow mayoral candidate Jason Baker, can be counted on to occupy the fiscal conservative side of the civic spectrum, raising the matter of both the tunnel deficit and continued shortfalls at the Aquatarium as reminders of the need to be vigilant with the public purse.

Arguably on the other side of the spectrum will be the two other candidates, Mark Oliver and Kelly Cole, who may rely more on optimism than fiscal hawkishness to fuel their campaigns.

(After watching Oliver at work in the community theatre/theatre of the absurd improv scene for many years, I’m almost inclined to think that inflating a giant rubber duck on Blockhouse Island, then turning it into a tourist Mecca-for-a-weekend would be a distinctly Mark Oliver kind of idea. And I mean that as a compliment.)

But even Oliver, upon the recent launch of his campaign, had to acknowledge that the tunnel deficit is a serious matter he would have to take in hand and resolve immediately upon assuming office, if elected.

Because even optimists cannot escape the reality that the best thing to happen to Brockville’s civic space in many years has also left behind a fiscal problem that cannot be ignored.

A year ago, as the tunnel opened and crowds were going gaga over the duck, most of us has no idea this dark cloud was coming.

But the silver lining is that, long after the tunnel deficit is paid off and its future phases are brought into some kind of order, the tunnel will still be there.

And a year later, people are still marvelling at its interior: Thursday afternoon saw a steady stream of walkers stopping to take selfies or read the descriptive signs, many if not most of them clearly visitors to our community.

Fifteen-month-old Hattie McParland hams for the camera as she is lifted by her dad, Derek, while her mom, Kristin, takes photos during a walk in Brockville’s railway tunnel on Thursday, August 9, 2018 in Brockville, Ont. The Carleton Place family was enjoying the Brockville attraction for the first time. (RONALD ZAJAC/The Recorder and Times)BT

And we will find some way to cover that missing two million, even if it requires convincing Kim Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot or Great Big Sea to pop by for a fundraising concert inside the tunnel, where they could perform live some of the songs that have been endlessly looping over the tunnel’s speakers since its opening.

And then, when realism and optimism finally meet, we can figure out Phase Two.

City hall reporter Ronald Zajac can be reached at rzajac@postmedia.com.